


it takes two

by kayleebrynt



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hosie, enjoy i guess, fake dating au, hope and josie have a plan, operation beat penelope at her own game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 22:01:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17455064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayleebrynt/pseuds/kayleebrynt
Summary: a hosie fake dating au where things get a little more complicated than they were supposed to.





	it takes two

**Author's Note:**

> here's another sucky fic that nobody asked for!!!
> 
> again, any comments and feedback is appreciated and you can find me on twitter @kayleebrynt. :)
> 
> also for dw because i'm doing this for them <3

hope didn’t know at what point the line between tolerating josie saltzman and actually  _ liking _ her had disappeared but as she sat at the other side of the room watching josie laugh and interact with some other witches she knew that line was far, far gone.

 

the two girls had begun to get closer after teaming up to find landon and raf and it had been nice for hope to have somebody other than alaric to talk to and hang out with. it didn’t say much considering josie was his daughter but hey, a friend is a friend. 

 

it started out small. first it was smiling and saying hi to each other in the halls and interacting with each other outside of the few times they were forced to thanks to alaric. then it was working together in class and eating lunch together. lizzie wasn’t happy with it, of course, but for some reason, josie just didn’t care and neither did hope. eventually, it became hanging out outside of class and study “dates” in one of their rooms. hope really enjoyed having someone she could call a friend and soon enough it was like they were inseparable. 

 

becoming friends with josie had its upsides and downsides. ( the main downside was having to deal with lizzie, but she was already skilled in ignoring her, so she wasn’t much of a problem.) she knew she was gonna be in for a ride when they started getting closer, but the one thing hope didn’t expect to happen came in the form of one simple conversation. 

 

  * •••



 

_ hope had been in her room reading over some old spell books when josie invited herself in and made herself comfortable. _

 

_ “this day is gross.” _

 

_ “well hello to you too josie.” _

 

_ josie let out an over exaggerated sigh and turned over to looked over at hope. “sorry, hi hope. how are you?” _

 

_ hope laughed before closing the spellbook and turning in her chair.  _

 

_ “i’m fine josie. now is there a story to come with that? should i make some popcorn? get comfortable?” _

 

_ josie sat up and threw one of the pillows next to her at hope. “i hate you.” _

 

_ hope raised her eyebrows at josie and smiled. “sure you do saltzman.” _

 

_ josie rolled her eyes before laying back on hope’s bed and closing her eyes. she scooted over a bit, figuring hope would come sit by her, and smiled when her thought was confirmed by footsteps leading over to the bed. when hope sat down, josie launched into her story. _

 

_ “penelope is so infuriating. it’s been almost 2 months since the kiss and she still won’t actually talk to me. she just does things to get under my skin. like today, i was in the library and she just so happened to be there and was being all cozy with some other girl.” josie paused to sit up and look at hope. “and the worst part is she kept looking at me the entire time. she wasn’t even paying attention to the other girl.” _

 

_ hope was quiet for a moment. “jose, it sounds to me  like she’s trying to make you jealous.” _

 

_ josie gave hope a hard stare. “why would she do that. she’s the one that broke up with me, kissed me on my birthday, and then ignored it afterwards.” _

 

_ hope shrugged. “beats me. but you do know she’s doing it just because she knows it gets under your skin right?”  _

 

_ josie sighed, “yeah i know, but it’s hard to not let it get under my skin. she knows exactly what buttons to push.” _

 

_ hope laid back on her bed. “why don’t you just try to beat her at her own game? i mean, she may know how to get under your skin, but you know how to get right back under hers.” _

 

_ josie looked skeptical.  _

 

_ “think about it. she does it because she knows it bothers you, but if you started acting like it doesn’t and play her game right back, it might get her to ease up.” _

 

_ “but who’s gonna help me. it’s not like i have a line of people waiting for a chance with me. and i can’t use raf, lizzie would kill me. mg wouldn’t work either, penelope would know that was just an act. wait-“ _

 

_ hope sat up when she saw the look in josie’s eyes. _

 

_ “no.” _

 

_ “hope please??” _

 

_ “josie no, there’s no way i’m doing it.” _

 

_ “why not.” _

 

_ “she would never believe it.” _

 

_ “out of everyone, you would be the most believable. c’mon hope pleaseeee?” _

 

_ hope glared at josie.  _

 

_ “please? it was your idea after all.” _

 

_ hope groaned, “i hate you.” _

 

_ josie stood up and squealed.  _

 

_ “thank you, thank you, thank you!!!” _

 

_ “you owe me big time for this.” _

 

_ josie smiled back at hope. _

 

_ “you’re the best you know that?” _

 

_ “i do. now get out of my room loser.” _

 

_ josie rolled her eyes but listened and left hope alone in her room _ . 

 

  * •••



 

a few months ago, hope never would’ve pictured herself even being friends with josie saltzman. the two just felt like total opposites, and hope didn’t care to know if it was true or not. so how she ended up here, holding hands with josie at the lunch table, she had no idea. 

 

hope felt like this plan wasn’t gonna end well, but she’d come to realize that josie had a way of getting you to do whatever she wanted you to without you even realizing. and whether she liked it or not, she also realized that she’d do just about anything for the younger girl. 

 

it didn't come to her surprise when the two girls were joined by the one person this entire plan was aimed at. penelope had sauntered over, an unreadable look sketched on her face. 

 

“well, well, well. what do we have here?” the words spilled out of her mouth as she looked between hope, josie and their combined hands. hope had a semi amused smile on her face, while josie was trying to look anywhere but at penelope. 

 

“well,  _ penelope _ , it seems to me like josie and i are trying to eat lunch. is there a problem with that?”

 

penelope arched an eyebrow at hope’s snarky response. she expected such to come from her. hope knew penelope wasn’t directly staring at her and josie’s combined hands, but she was extremely aware of it. to push things a bit further, she rubbed the back of josie’s hand and changed her focus from penelope to josie, and gave her a small, sweet smile. 

 

penelope speaking caused both girls to look up at her. “no problem here. just didn’t know eating lunch involved holding hands.” hope noticed her demeanor had changed a bit, and she loved it. 

 

before she had a chance to reply with some sarcastic comment to throw back at penelope, josie’s sharp voice surprised both penelope and hope. 

 

“why do you even care?”

 

penelope let out a laugh, “oh honey, i don’t.”

 

hope noticed the way josie’s eyebrows knitted together at penelope’s answer. the two girls were staring each other down, and if looks could kill, they’d all three be dead. 

 

josie spoke up again, this time a little harsher than before. “well if you don’t mind, some of us are trying to enjoy our food. so if you could kindly leave, i think we would both appreciate it.”

 

penelope opened her mouth to respond, but shut it back after looking at hope’s still amused look, and the intertwined hands on the table. she wasn’t one that left without getting in the last word, but this time, that’s exactly what had happened. 

 

once hope and josie were alone at their table again, hope unlinked their hands and glared at josie. “you know, for someone who’s supposedly doing this to get under penelope’s skin, you’re being awfully shy.”

 

josie gaped back at her. “i’m not being shy.” hope gave josie a point blank look. “jose, you couldn’t even look her in the eyes for the first few minutes she was here.”

 

josie opened her mouth to respond, but like penelope had done just mere minutes before, she shut it back, leaving hope with the last word.

 

when josie didn’t respond, hope leaned back in her chair with a laugh, “that’s what i thought.” josie was a smart girl, but sometimes she could be a complete fool.

 

the rest of lunch was spent in a comfortable silence, just listening to the chatter that filled the room. when the bell rang signaling lunch was over, the two girls walked together, only separating to go to their different classes.

 

they were reunited a few hours later after classes were done for the day. most days, after classes were out, hope and josie would go out to the garden and find a place to sit and do homework together. today being one of those days, the girls met underneath one of the many trees that were scattered among the schools yard.

 

hope had gotten there first, sitting down against the trunk of the tree and pulling her phone out to keep herself busy. josie had gotten there a few minutes later and had joined hope by plopping herself down on the ground and leaning over to set her head on hope’s shoulder. 

 

“if mr. williams keeps giving us more and more homework, i might actually drown from how swamped i am.”

 

hope nudged josie’s head with her shoulder. “you’re so dramatic you know that?” she couldn’t see it, but she knew josie’s signature smile was there. josie sat up and turned to look at hope with a serious look on her face. hope sat up a bit and looked back her. “what’s up jose?”

 

josie swallowed before answering, “i just wanna say thank you. i know you didn’t wanna do this and i kinda dragged you into it, but i really appreciate it, hope. not a lot of people would do something like this for me.” hope smiled, her eyes never leaving josie’s. “you don’t have to thank me josie. i’m glad i can help. i mean it’s not something i’m completely happy about, but you’re my best friend and i know you would do the same if i was in your situation.”

 

josie’s somber look changed into one of pure happiness. “i’m sorry but did hope mikaelson just refer to me as her best friend? or was i dreaming?” 

 

hope laughed and shoved josie’s shoulder. “don’t get used to it saltzman.” josie joined into the laughter and in that one moment everything felt right. before, she couldn’t stand the thought of letting anyone in. but now, as she sat here listening to their laughs fill the air around them and seeing the smile on josie’s face, all the heartbreak and pain she dealt with on a daily basis slipped away. even if just for a few moments, hope was grateful josie was the one who could make that happen. 

 

  * •••



 

the next time hope, josie, and penelope were in the same room was that night at dinner. hope made sure her and josie sat far enough away from the other witch that they could enjoy their meal without having josie staring at her the entire time. 

 

thankfully, hope’s plan worked and josie had preoccupied herself with some conversation about class that hope was just barely paying attention to. she loved josie, sure, but sometimes she could talk way too much. 

 

hope was pulled out of her trance by a hand being placed on her own. “hope, you okay?” josie looked genuinely worried so hope gave her a smile and fully took josie’s hand in her own. “i’m okay jose. just zoned out for a few minutes there.” josie squeezed hope’s hand back and smiled at hope with an identical one that she had just gotten from the girl. 

 

“so what’s on your mind then miss mikaelson?”

 

hope shrugged, “nothing really. just tired.” josie looked at her as if she was trying to decipher something. “and before you ask, no i’m not lying. i just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.” josie let out a small “hmm” before dropping the topic and bringing up something else. this time she was telling hope something about some spell she had read about earlier in the day, and hope couldn’t help but smile at the younger girl. when she got to telling you something she was passionate about, her eyes lit up and her smile stretched from ear to ear. 

 

josie’s conversation was stopped briefly and a frown made itself onto her face. hope figured it had something to do with penelope, and proved the thought right as she turned her head to see penelope standing at a table just behind them, flirting with some witch she didn’t know the name of. hope turned her head back and looked at josie. 

 

“you’re staring.”

 

“no i’m not.”

 

“you are.”

 

josie glared at hope and crossed her arms. 

 

hope just smiled back at josie and turned back to look at penelope, only this time penelope was staring right back at her. hope gave her a tight lipped smile and turned back around. 

 

“give me your hand.”

 

“why?” 

 

“josie just give me your hand.”

 

josie complied and uncrossed her arms. she stretched her arm across and gave one of her hands to hope. hope then took josie’s hands in hers and intertwined their fingers. josie just stared at her, looking very confused. hope just squeezed her hand and waited.

 

a few moments later, they were joined by penelope for the second time that day. “so this really is a thing now, huh?” her eyes wandered between the two girls and their intertwined hands yet again. hope smiled up at the girl, “wow you really are one smart cookie, and here i thought you wouldn’t have ever figured it out.” josie looked as if she was gonna laugh, but kept her head down.

 

penelope narrowed her eyes at hope. “it’s not like i had much to figure out. it’s pretty obvious something was going on, seeing as you follow josie around like a lost puppy.” josie’s head snapped up as soon as the words left penelope’s mouth, and she looked as if she was ready to set her on fire. again. hope just smiled at penelope. 

 

“making dog jokes are we now? didn’t know you were  _ that _ bad at comebacks.” penelope opened her mouth to speak but hope interrupted, “but anywho, i really should get going now.” hope let her eyes fall from penelope’s and looked at josie. josie just looked back at her, wondering what was happening. 

 

hope swallowed and gave josie’s hand a small squeeze. the next thing all of them knew, hope’s lips were pressed to josie’s and penelope stood there shocked. josie didn’t know what was happening, and by the time she did, hope was pulling away with a smile. 

 

she stood up and looked down at josie, “night jose.” hope then turned to penelope and gave her another smile before brushing past her and walking out of the dining room. that definitely wasn’t a part of the plan, but hey, whatever helps right?


End file.
